In recent years, in embedded devices such as image forming apparatuses (hereinafter, simply referred to as “devices”), new applications can be installed after shipment. However, to prevent the cost of the device itself from increasing, the memory capacity of the device tends to be limited compared to general-purpose computers.
Therefore, when plural applications installed in the device are operated simultaneously, the device is more apt to run out of available memory compared to general-purpose computers.
Thus, in the conventional technology, there have been proposals for determining whether an application can be installed in an image forming apparatus based on the sum of memory amounts used by the application to be installed and the memory amounts of applications already installed in the image forming apparatus (see, for example, patent document 1).
However, the total memory amount used when plural applications are simultaneously operated does not necessarily correspond to the sum of memory amounts used when the respective applications are operated individually. For example, the memory usage of a library shared by plural applications may not be proportionate to the number of applications operated simultaneously.
When the memory usage of the library is substantially fixed but the total memory usage of the applications is obtained by a simple sum, the memory usage of the library may be redundantly added. Accordingly, the memory amount obtained by a simple sum may be greater than the actual memory usage of the applications. In this case, the image forming apparatus may reject installing an additional application even when the additional application can actually be installed.
Meanwhile, when the memory usage of the library exponentially increases with the number of applications that are simultaneously operated, but the total memory usage of the applications is obtained by a simple sum, the simple sum may be less than the actual memory usage of the applications. In this case, the image forming apparatus may allow an additional application to be installed even when it is inappropriate to do so.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-285871